The Same Eyes
by lexandar
Summary: Final Fantasy Versus XIII/ Final Fantasy XV. It's been 18 years, now Noctis finds out about his little sister. How will he and his companions handle this? Will they include her on their mission to save King Regis and protect the last crystal? Family/Friendship/Romance. Ignis x OC Lucida
1. Chapter 1 - The Same Eyes

In Lestallum ,a noisy city full of people, the boys just came out of the grocery store after getting ingredients for their meals for the next days, when she noticed that it was him. There were four boys. Four quite handsome boys she had to admit. A tall guy with glasses went midway with a blond-haired boy, followed by an extreme muscleman. Ahead was a young man with spiky black hair and cold blue eyes. Noctis Lucis Caelum. She knew him. Her mother once mentioned him, when she was younger, but she never met him before. Now he is her only chance.

His unzipped jacket, his shirt with skull prints, his trousers, even his boots. Everything was black, black like the deepest of all nights. Everyone of them was wearing black, just like she did. That young brown-haired girl with blue eyes wore a short-sleeved leather jacket, underneath a black shirt with a decent batik pattern which was buttoned up. Her trousers were skinny jeans with pockets on each outer side of her leg and the lace up boots she wore reached her knees.

She watched the four boys crossing the street, with wide opened eyes. She stood numbly on the sidewalk, almost as if she was fainting, yet looked like she wanted to scream for five hours straight.

There he was, Noctis Lucis Caelum, the one she was looking for, her flesh and blood - well at least half of it. The four boys were about to leave, which put her under enormous pressure. What will she do? Or rather what is she able to do? Now where she left home she has no other choice but going to him. He just has to incorporate her, since she doesn't want to go to her father, who didn't care about her and her mother for 17 years. Now that she was all alone, Noctis was her only resort.

He and his three buddies just took off and drove from the parking lot on the street. Frantically she ran on the street towards their car, so the man with glasses, who was the driver, had to brake immediately, sounding the horn for seconds.

"What the hell are you doing?", the blond one with light freckles all over his face exclaimed.

"Er...", she could feel her heart beat fast. "I'm... ", she looked at Noctis with an insecure expression which eased bit by bit and turned into resoluteness. "I am his sister", she said with a determined voice.

The blond guy almost jumped up of his seat, "You're what?"

The man of large built who was sitting in the back looked with a leery gaze at her, "Do you even know what you're saying?" All of them were acting extremely protective. Of course they did.

She lowered her head. It was obvious, that she was in despair. Tears were filling up her eyes until one was pouring down her right cheek, dropping on the engine bonnet. Fortunately none of them could see her crying. Her long hair covered half of her face. She would hate herself if someone saw her crying. In desperation she hit the bonnet with her fist. The boys startled up. Looking up at Noctis said, "It's true! I'm telling the truth!"

She could feel her blood rising up into her head. Fury filled her heart, making her breathe heavily. Suddenly she could feel it - her eyes glowing crimson.

The car was standing in the middle of the road, causing traffic jam. You could already hear the other drivers sounding the horn. "Hey! What on earth is wrong with you?!", one of them shouted back aggressively from the queue of cars, "Could you just move on for Etro's sake?!"

"The others are waiting. We have to drive on, Your Highness", the smart man with glasses reportet. "I know", he murmured, then after seconds of thinking he demanded gazing at the helpless girl, "Get in the car."

"But, Noct...", the freckled boy turned around facing him and asked, "Are you sure?" Noctis nodded, "Trust me, I'm sure about this." She got in straightaway and sat next to Noctis, who almost squashed the man whith the huge muscles. Cramped the three were sitting in the back of the car as they took off.

"Show me your face.", Noctis muttered imperiously. She let out a unwittingly sigh and rejected showing her face. She knew her eyes still were flashing blood red. She didn't even know for herself why she tried to hide them. Maybe it was because she didn't like the feeling that people were able to read her emotions like a book.

He grabbed her jawline, turning her head around, involuntarily facing him. She tried looking away, without any chance. He would see her fiery eyes anyway. "Tch...", he made a judgmental noise. He saw them. And now she feels like she revealed one of her most intimate Emotions. He let go of her jaw then focused on the other three boys again who were fussing around because of the traffic. At least she can be sure that none of the others noticed what just happened between her and Noctis.

They left the city Lestallum and headed to Duscae. When they arrived at a vast plain. It was already dusking. They all got out of the vehicle, the girl leaning on the car, surrounded by the four men. Now it was high time to have talk. The one with the glasses, who was more calm than the others, stood right in front of her. "Who are you?", he asked with a serious tone.

Timidly she said, "My name is Lucida Procul Caelum." A bright sky in the distance.

"Caelum?", he repeated in question.

The freckled boy came two quick steps closer. Surprised he questioned, "Caelum like Noctis Lucis Caelum?" His eyes were wide, his jaw fell open. Frantically he looked over to Noctis, then gazed back to Lucida again, "But how is that possible?"

Lucida straightened up, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. "I told you I'm Noctis's sister, didn't I?", She looked around and asked, "Who are you?"

Surprisingly Noctis was the first one introducing himself, "I am Noctis Lucis Caelum, but I guess you already know" Lucida nodded and looked back to the others.

"I'm Gladiolus Amicitia", the big guy said pointing his thumb at himself then put his hands in his trouser pockets.

"And I'm Prompto Argentum. Pleasure to meet ya", the one with the freckles smirked cheekily, yet looked innocent. Prompto wasn't acting as cold as the others. He appeared pleasant and somehow honest.

The man who was standing right in front of Lucida adjusted his glasses. "My name is Ignis Stupeo Scientia", he said in a low tone. Ignis seemed to be a very composed, serious young man, and Lucida liked that, still she could feel that he doesn't trust her. But who would? Bolting in and crashing someones party. Who would trust a stranger who claims to be someone's sister? Well, obviously Noctis would. He was the one telling Lucida to get in the car. She wonders what was behind his action, but she couldn't ask him straight away. Now is not the time. Now she has to convince them that she has no bad intentions and that she is on their side.

Ignis tried putting Lucida in her place, "This must be a mistake, young lady. It's impossible that our highness has any sibl-" "It is", Noctis interrupted, "As you can see it is possible."

Noctis took a step next to Lucida, showing that he sides with her. All of them looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"I guess you owe us an explanation, Lucida", Gladiolus said and crossed his arms.

"Well, it's complicated...", she sighed, because she was afraid they won't believe it. Noctis may believe her, but still the others may see her as their enemy. Nonetheless she had to try. "Actually I'm only his half-sister." She looked down on the ground. "My father is Regis Lucis Caelum. He met my mother 18 years ago and they fell in love. At least my mother fell in love with him. She brought me into the world but..." She turned around as she was close to tears, so that none of them could see. She leaned her hands on the car door looking far into the distance. "But he left", she said with a shaky voice. "Of course he did, because there already was a family waiting for him."

Noctis took two steps away breathing out heavily. It was not only hard for Lucida, but it was hard for Noctis to manage this. She looked compassionately at him. She was sorry ,yet felt like she had to do it.

Ignis turned around approaching Noctis, patting on his shoulder and guided him further away to have a serious talk. Gladiolus sighed and paced back and forth. Prompto leaned on the car next to Lucida and looked at her affectionately, as if he wanted to comfort her a bit. The atmosphere evolved more and more tense.

She could hear some parts of their conversation. "Noctis, are you aware of what you are doing? You know nothing about that girl, yet you trust her. Do you really believe what she is saying?", she heard things like that coming from Ignis, which made her feel uncomfortable – uncomfortable doesn't even come close to what she is feeling right now.

"This is futile", she murmured to herself.

"Calm down. Things will straighten out", Gladiolus said. "Yeah, no worries. Our Prince seems to trust you", Prompto said with a perky grin on his face.

"And how about you?", she turned around facing Prompto and Gladiolus, "Do you trust me?"

"We'll follow Noctis wherever he goes and accept whatever he does. If he believes you, we will accept it", Gladiolus said wisely, "Besides, it's a matter between you and Noctis. it's no one else's business." Regarding his imposing physique Lucida didn't expect him to be this calm. He is almost being friendly. She thought he would be one of the nasty bad boys arousing attention.

"You see, it all depends on Noct", Prompto said with a playful smile on his face. How can he even be this cheerful in a moment like this? Lucida always admired people like Prompto. She wished that one day she could face life as confident as Prompto does.

Ignis and Noctis came back, which made Lucida more nervous than she already was – if that was even possible.

"We'll set up our camp and stay here for the night. Noctis insists on it", Ignis said to everybody around, then looking at Lucida. "That includes you as well", he assured with a nod.

"Uh..", she said with insecurity, "I-It's fine! I can go and find another place to sleep. I won't bother you any longer."

"Are you crazy?!", Prompto urged, "We're in the middle of nowhere!"

"You're not going", Noctis demanded, "Stay here."

"But I -" "No chance!", Gladiolus interrupted, "There are too many monsters out there."

"Gladiolus is right. It's far too dangerous. You'll ratherstay here, Lucida", Ignis said as if he was offering peace, whereas he was the one who mistrusted her most. "But we have to sleep in the same tent, since we only have one", he added.

"It's totally fine by me", Lucida responded looking around, then gazing at Noctis."Thank you", she said with a sentimental expression. He nodded with a slight smile.

Before it got completely dark they set up the tent together and built a bonnet fire. Now it was time for Ignis to cook a delicious meal for the group.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Same Bloodline

It was almost late night, the sky was clear and the stars were showing up. Gladiolus and Noctis were building a bonnet fire while Ignis was preparing a quick dinner. The only one jerking around was Prompto, but fortunately he lifted up the mood that way. Walking up to Ignis, Lucida asked," Do you need any help?"

"You sure you wanna help him, Luce? You know, Iggy's pretty fussy when it comes to cooking meals", Prompto said smirking cheekily. Ignis just smiled. Maybe because Prompto was telling the truth.

"Is that so?", Lucida responded amusingly. "Well, that's nothing to me! Besides, what's with that nickname?" , she was narrowing her eyes looking kiddingly sulky at Prompto, but then smiled again.

"What? You don't like it? I think it's cute, but I think Lucy is even better, if you allow to call you by that nickname", he replied amusingly jumping away back to Gladiolus and Noctis, who were now sitting cozily at the fire.

"Please don't!" She murmured pleading, but with a slight smile. "It's no use. He will call you whatever he wants, I'm afraid", Ignis said kindly, "But that's how Prompto is."

Lucida chuckled, "Yeah, you are probably right."

"You can chunk the vegetables, if you would like to help " Ignis suggested in a friendly way. "I'd be glad to!", she responded. Even if it's only a little thing she could do, Lucida wanted to do everything to help, since she feels like she is burdening the boys with her presence.

Ignis handed Lucida a cutting board and a knife. She started cutting the vegetables, then after a few minutes accidentally cut her finger deeply. Wincing she hissed and instinctively sucked on the wound on her left forefinger. Ignis immediately turned around, grabbing her injured hand, "Don't!" He was looking at her intensively, then for some reason tried to hide his face, "I will go and get you a plaster. You wait here." "Uh.." She stuttered. "It's fine, Ignis. You really don't need to – ", but he already was heading for the first-aid-kit in the trunk of their car. Lucida sighed. Again she is a liability, although she wanted to help.

He came back and put on the plaster on her finger gently, which made her blush deeply. "That should fix it", he muttered with a deep voice. "Yeah, Thanks", she responded briefly without any eye contact, then turned around quickly and went on cutting the vegetables. The atmosphere was awkward – very awkward.

While Ignis and Lucida prepared supper, Gladiolus and Noctis had a profound conversation about his sister.

Gladiolus was coming closer to Noctis, to make sure none of the others could hear them, "Noct, I know you're not fully stupid. So what made you believe that little girl?"

Noctis turned his face to him, then looked back into the fire, "It's hard to explain." He winked, then after a brief pause, "I just felt it."

"You just felt it?", he repeated pejoratively. "Yeah, I felt kind of a connection between us", he said. "She is my sister. I know it." Gladiolus only shook his head. "I understand your doubts, Gladio... I don't expect you to trust her, but at least trust in me", Noctis said with a severe tone.

Gladiolus looked at his friend , then after a few seconds, "Yeah, you're right, Noct. I'm sorry." Noctis nodded amicably as a response.

Gladiolus and Noctis know each other for a long time now. They know one another since early childhood , so he is like a brother to him. Gladiolus acts as the shield of Noctis and his family, That's why he is this protective. If Lucida really is his sister, it will make her part of the royal family, thus it would be his duty to protect her as well. Now where Noctis is profoundly convinced, it's his job to take care of her. Not only his job, but also Ignis's and Prompto's job.

Dinner was ready, hence they all sat at the bonnet fire eating a spicy Behemoth-Steak with fresh salad. "Humph", Prompto made a noise with a full mouth, "That's pretty good! You've done well for a newbie, Lucy!", he said chewing the food. Lucida glowered at him. She still doesn't get to like that weird nickname Prompto gave her. Ignis let out a little smirk.

"Of course it's good, since I've contributed to cooking the meal" she said grinning slightly.

"Don't get too cocky, Luce" , Noctis added kiddingly.

"Wanna provoke the first sibling fight, huh?, Prompto glanced cheekily at him.

"What brothers say to tease their sisters has nothing to do with what they really think of them.", Gladiolus said wisely breaking the bright atmosphere with no intent. He sounded as if he knew what he was talking about.

"Thanks, Gladio", he replied, "I appreciate it."

"Not for nothing it is said, that Siblings that say they never fight are most definitely hiding something", Ignis added unexpectedly.

„This conversation ends up too deep for me, guys", Prompto said grinning with the intent to brighten the atmosphere again. "Too deep for you?", Gladiolus repeated smirking at Prompto. "Don't you mean too difficult to understand?", Ignis added with the aim to tease him a bit.

"Oh, c'mon, guys. Don't be like that!", Prompto whined. Compared to the others he has a different social status, since he is not part of the royal circle. No wonder Prompto feels inferior. But still he tries his best to be useful and is ambitious to help his friends in need.

"Take it easy, Prompto", noctis said to back him.

It was put about that Prompto was a bad influence to noctis since his early school days. He is a wanted felon, a fugitive, but his heart is kind and affectionate. Prompto truly is a helpful and loyal person. That much is clear.

While eating, they all had a pleasant chat among each other. Lucida wouldn't have thought in the slightest, that things would turn out like this. The fact that the boys incorporated her, makes her deeply grateful. She really does appreciate it.

All five ate up and went into the tent, only Lucida, being the last one outside, sitting in the grass, her arms wrapped around her legs and looking far into the distant clear light. The shining moon was rising and the stars were sparkling bright.

Then the tall grass was rustling. Lucida being too deep into thoughts didn't notice Noctis, who was standing behind her, "Enjoying the night sky?" She winced, almost jumping up because of the little shock. While the others were in the tent, Noctis sat next to her, leaning his elbows on his knees. Both of them were enjoying the silence for a while, since it was quite a stressful day for everyone, especially for Noctis.

You could only hear the wind gliding trough the grasses and the trees nearby, until Lucida breaked the silence. "Say", she started asking, "Why do you believe me?", then pausing for a moment. "I mean, actually you have no apparent reason to trust me."

Gazing at her he smiled slightly, "Can't you guess?" Then after a brief pause, "You are the daughter of Regis Lucis Caelum – my father. We have the same royal blood running through our veins, the same royal bloodline. You inherited the same powers through his blood as I have."

Lucidas eyes opened wide. "I inherited these powers from him?", she said in surprise, "And you have it, too?"

"Your eyes revealed it", he responded. "When I saw your crimson eyes I knew it has to be true. Only the royal circle possesses these special powers"

She sighed wearily, then she said, "I always thought something was wrong with me. My mother never wanted to talk about it, when I asked her what it was. I knew she was hiding something."

They remained silent for a while. Noctis looked at her ,"Tell me about you and my father."

Lucida breathed out heavily, then gazed at him, "I never talked to anyone about that, but I guess I owe you an explanation." She new it was only a matter of time until she has to confess everything. She took a deep breath to prepare for what she has to tell him, knowing that she will be close to tears.

"Well...", she started saying. "I'm not absolutely sure, I admit, since my mother refuses to talk about it, but I know that my mother travelled to Lucis because of work-related affairs. It was about 18 years ago, when Niflheim still owned one of the last crystals."

The Empire of Niflheim lost his crystal after years, thus they became the enemy nation of Lucis and caused a great dispute over the last crystal, that the Kingdom of Lucis possessed.

"So you are from Niflheim?", Noctis interrupted.

"Yes", she said, then continued, "And my mother met King Regis in Lucis, and fell in love with him. She got pregnant and wanted to stay in Lucis, but Regis decided to abandon her. He chose to stay with you. So she went back home again to Niflheim after some time, where I was born. She barely spoke about him all along, but she once told me about you, when I was younger."

"What did she tell you about me?", he asked curiously.

"Well,... as you may have noticed I have the surname from King Regis and not from my mother. She never told me about him and didn't even know about my father for a long time, so I wondered where that name came from. She told me that there's a prince, my brother, named Noctis Lucis Caelum somewhere out there. And she said that we got seperated or anything like that. It was like a fairy tale she told me, just to quieten me down." Lucida sighed then said, "I guess in the end she couldn't let go, so she replaced him by naming me after him. "

She looked far into the distance, avoiding eye contact. "She had several new boyfriends after all that and always acted like she was a good mother. Now she is engaged to total douchebag, who uses her. He's pretty manipulative... I think he's hiding something. When I wanted to tell her, we ended up fighting." Then Lucida said with a shaky voice,"She said she wished I was never born."

Lucida dragged her legs close to her body, wrapping her arms tighter around them. You could see that she was feeling unwanted and worthless. She leant her head on her knees, then felt Noctis patting his sister on the back, trying to show sympathy. She raised her head again.

"My mother always says that she deserves some happiness, too. ", she said dolefully. "Of course she does. Everyone deserves Happiness and that includes me as well. But in the end, she always forgets about me. And that's why I left home." Determined she glanced at Noctis, " I want to find out who I am and what made me to what I am today!"

"So that's the reason you are here. " Confused he asked, "Say, how did you find me?"

"Noctis, do I need to remind you, that you can come to know almost anything, if you pay enough money?", she said playfully, "People are venal. That's how I could track you down."

He smirked, "Hope you're not bankrupt now, sis."

"Don't worry", she responded with a grin on her face, "I saved enough cash to chase down thousands of brothers." Both of them were sitting afield, laughing together for the first time. They enjoyed the harmonic atmosphere, only seeing the bright moon in the distant night sky, until Noctis got up, heading to the tent.

"Noctis.", she said with the aim to stop him. He turned around. "I'm sorry I'm putting you through all this", she said, still looking at the glowing moon.

"No, it's okay", he responded. "Denying the truth doesn't change the facts.", he said to make her feel better and went in the tent joining the others.

"Yo, Noct! Where have you been?", Prompto said lying on the matress, putting his hands behind his head.

"Had a nice chat with her?" Gladiolus asked amusingly.

"Yeah, we talked", Noctis responded. "And I've got some bad news."

Prompto sat up, "Oh no, That sounds bad – really bad"

"What's the matter?", Gladiolus asked.

Noctis sighed, then said, "She's from Niflheim."

Prompto jumped up, "She's what? From Niflheim?"

"We need to talk to her. Now.", Gladiolus advised. Then Ignis asked, "Where is she now?" Noctis said, "She's outside."

"You left her alone? She may leave us, your highness. You know that." Ignis said, giving him a warning.

"What? She's gonna leave?" Prompto jumped up again, this time with the intent to look for her. "She's not gonna leave.", but Prompto ignored Noctis's words. "Luce, are you there?", he called. As he wanted to go out of the tent he was confronted by the most innocent Eyes he has ever seen. Lucida stood right in front of Prompto, not knowing what was going on. He Was staring at her for seconds. "Uh", she was confused. "What's up?", she asked. "Oh, Nothing" , he grinned and dragged her into the tent.

"We should make plans for tomorrow", Gladiolus said. "Indeed", Ignis responded.

"We proceed as we did before. We'll go on travelling to Niflheim", Noctis said looking at his younger sister, wondering how she is going to react to it.

Lucidas mouth fell open, "What? Niflheim?" She shook her head frantically, "But why?" Now where she finally built up hope, she was afraid they'd bring her back home again and leave her with her self-centred mother and her devious future-stepfather.

"Our Father's there, abducted by the forces of Niflheim. They try to extort the last crystal of Lucis from him."

Lucida breathed out heavily, "I knew Niflheim wanted to possess the last crystal, but I never knew that they were going this far." She was stunned.

"I can imagine, you don't want to go back into your home country, since you ran away from it, but..."

Prompto and Gladiolus gazed confused at each other.

"But you have to decide. Will you accompany us to rescue King Regis and protect the crystal of Lucis, or will you side with the Empire of Niflheim struggling greedily for the last crystal?

To Lucida that decision was not about the crystal at all. It was more about who she wants to spend the rest of her life with. If she joins Noctis and the others, she'll never dare to go back home, since she'd be betraying her homeland, but if she sides with Niflheim, Noctis will be her enemy. She'll never be able to meet her father and she'll never be able to know who she really is. She didn't want that.

Lucida took a deep breath. "I'm on your side", she said looking determined at Noctis and Ignis. "I'll do my best to help you rescue my father and to protect the crystal!"

Noctis exhaled, making eye contact with Ignis. They nodded to each other.

Then Noctis smiled at his sister with relief, putting his hand on her shoulder. She gave him a nod and smiled back.

"Good choice, Luce. You successfully avoided the first sibling fight" , Prompto said with a huge grin on his face.

She punched his arm slightly. "You treading on thin ice, Prompto. You want me to change my mind?" she said kiddingly.

Then Gladiolus said with a smirk, "You better behave yourself. From now on we'll be spending a lot of time with her"

"Or she'll better become accustomed to us", Prompto smiled. "To you, I'll never become accustomed", she added teasing him. "You sure 'bout that?", he asked.

"Lucida", Ignis interrupted. "Can you fight?"

"Ugh", she stuttered. "Well, I know the basics", she said facing him.

"Good. That will be enough for now. We will teach you more about warrior skills soon", Ignis said. "But for now I would say it's time to sleep."

Noctis muttered, "Yeah, It's Bedtime."

"We'll get up at six" Ignis announced, then set the alarm on the smartphone.

They switched off the lamp and got to bed.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Same Power

Lucida couldn't sleep that night. Restlessly she sat in the dark tent, wrapping her arms around her legs, leaning her head on her knees. Next to her Noctis slept like a rock, beside him were Prompto and Gladiolus. God Gladiolus was snoring like an untamed behemoth. Gazing to the left she could see Ignis laying without his glasses on.

After sitting there for a few minutes, she decided to go outside and get some fresh air, thus she crawled out of the tent, trying not to wake the others up. Returning to her upright position , she rubbed her eyes, yawned and then stretched herself. Looking around, surrounded by pure darkness, she suddenly heard someone coming out of the tent, but she couldn't recognize who it was.

„Where are you going, Your Highness?" She knew whose voice it was – it was Ignis's. He looked demanding at her, taking a few steps forward so that he stood right next to her.

Lucida raised an eyebrow, "Highness?"

"Of course! Being the daughter of King Regis makes you a Crown Princess", he said with amusement.

She sighed, "Never thought about that." Then after a brief pause she added, "I don't like being called like that." Ignis gazed confused at her, then she proceeded, "I'm a normal human being like everybody else, I don't want any special treatment." Avoiding being too sentimental, she said jokingly with a smirk, "I rather be called Lucy instead." Then she mentally punched herself in the face five times for talking too much nonsense. Talking really wasn't one of her strengths.

Ignis nodded as response showing sympathy, but then said, "If King Regis would have heard those words, he would be very upset. He would probably say that you shall be proud and keep your head high, as long as you carry his name and his royal blood."

Lucida gazed at him with a slight surprised face. She hadn't expect him to be this serious about it."Maybe" she shrugged, "I don't know." In the end she was being sentimental anyway, just like always.

"You don't know yet, but you will. Trust me", Ignis said with certainty. "You will see your father, if you stick to us."

She responded with determination, "I will. I promise."

Both of them remained silent for a while, enjoying the fresh air. The trees nearby were rustling because of the wind that arose.

"Noctis mentioned you ran away from home", Ignis started asking. "Actually it's none of my business, but may I ask what the reason for running away was?

Lucidas heart stood still for a second. She didn't expect him to ask her now in this direct way. "Uh..", she stottered, "I-It's complicated."

Ignis shook his head, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you."

"No, it's fine, Ignis. Really", she said with a slight fake smile. Then she proceeded, "My mother and I had several arguments. She never really cared about me and never told me about my father, she was always avoiding it. I couldn't take her egoistic behaviour any longer." Her voice began being shaky, "I just want to know who I am. That's why I'm here."

She let out a heavy breath. She tried so hard not to cry that in the end she cried even harder. Why the hell was she crying? When she told Noctis about her past she was able to check herself. But for now she has to cry without making any sound. She must hide it.

Ignis eyes grew huge behind his glasses. Lucida tried in vain to hide her tears. But he noticed it anyway. More or less she felt like Ignis noticed everything she does and everything she thinks.

He turned around facing her and patted his hand on her shoulder. Then he wiped off the tear from her cheek with his thumb and lifted her chin with his fingertips, which made Lucida feel nervous.

She was looking him deep in the eyes. Damn, those eyes were glorious. It was a pity, that those clear green eyes are hidden behind those glasses. Aside from his pretty face, she just realized how tall he actually was. There were 6 feet of gorgeousness standing right in front of her.

After having eye contact for a few seconds, Ignis stepped back averting his eyes, and adjusted his glasses. "I'm going to sleep. You should catch up some sleep, too", he murmured in a rather cold way and then went into the tent. Lucida nodded and headed for the tent as well after a while.

As she lay down, she was thinking about what just happened. Ignis was acting quite weird. In one moment he was comforting her in a gently way, but in the next he was turning his back on her. She doesn't know where she stands with him, and that's causing her concern. She was lying on her back for more than half an hour, broad awake, not sleeping a wink. She heard Ignis breathing slowlier and lower. He was already asleep.

After ages she was finally able to close her eyes and fall asleep. At least she could sleep for approximately 3 more hours.

Dawn was breaking and the sun rose up slowly. Ignis was standing outside with a cup of Ebony Coffee, chatting with gladiolus about today's plans, when Prompto came out of the tent, yawning and stretching himself. "Mornin', buddies", he said with an half smile. "Good Morning", they responded. Then Ignis asked, "Is the princess awake already?"

"You mean Noctis? Nah, he's still asleep", Prompto answered.

"You do know, that we're talking about Lucida, right?", Gladiolus said with a smile, raising an eyebrow.

Prompto stood still for a second, realizing that she really is a princess – the crown princess of Lucis to be exact. There goes the fun with teasing Noctis by calling him a princess. Too bad. Calling him a princess now, would only cause confusion and wouldn't be as funny as it used to be.

"She's sleeping like a log", he said.

Suddenly they heard the alarm of the smartphone. The three looked at each other, counting how long it'll take Noctis to get himself out of bed. All of them were wating outside. 20 seconds... 25 seconds... 30 seconds. Then the smartphone stopped ringing.

Gladiolus headed for tent to check on Noctis. He saw him sitting with the smartphone in his hands. "Finally up, sunshine?", he said with amusement. "But not fully awake", Noctis muttered. "Get up and wake up your sister. We've got to make up for lost time, Your Highness.", Gladiolus said and turned around, going back to the others.

Noctis yawned and rubbed his eyes, then shook Lucida out of her sleep. "Hey, Luce. Wake up."

She made a noise of negation, turned around and showed Noctis her back.

Then after a few seconds he said, trying to sound dutiful as a big brother, "We've got to go to Niflheim and save father."

Lucidas eyes suddenly opended wide, "Yes, I'm awake." She sat up, rubbed her eyes and said, "Let's go, Noctis." Then she left the tent, followed by Noctis. "Mornin' there", Prompto said with a wide grin on his face.

"I never thought you are such late riser too, Lucy", Gladiolus added.

She responded jokingly, "I'm full of surprises, as you can see"

Then Noctis said, "Are we leaving?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Everything is packed. We only need to take down the tent. Then we are ready to leave.", Ignis answered.

They quickly took down the tent, put it in the trunk and drove off. It was still a long way to Niflheim. Sure it will take them a few more days to get there.

Ignis was driving the car, next to him was Gladiolus. From the back you could hear Prompto complaining, "Hey, why do I have to sit in the back?"

"Like I already said, it's simply too tight for me to squash into the car", Gladiolus responded.

Noctis, who sat between Prompto and Lucida, said, "I don't mind sitting next to you, Prompto. Gladio would definitely be too massive and there'd be lack of space."

"Yeah, otherwise Noctis and I would suffer from claustrophia", Lucida added teasingly.

Gladiolus turned around, "Are you done with complaining?"

"Yup", Prompto answered with an innocent smile on his freckled face.

Then after a while Noctis said, "Sis, I've got something for you." He put a silver ring with a silver skull on it out of his jacket pocket. "We all wear something with a skull on it except you , I thought I'll give this to you, since you are one of us, right?"

Then Lucida said with excitement, "It looks so cool! Thank you!"

"Wasn't that King Regis's ring?", Ignis interrupted gazing at Noctis through the driving mirror.

"Yes, it was father's once. Then he gave it to me." He put the ring in her hand. "I want you to have it, Luce."

"I'm truly thankful, Noctis, but I cannot accept this" She said. Now that she knows that it was from her father, she couldn't take it. "It belongs to you", she added.

"Not anymore. Now it's yours.", he grabbed her hand and put the ring on her forefinger.

Getting the ring, that once was her father's, meant much to her.

"It's far too big. You sure this isn't a bracelet?", she said with the aim to kid around.

"Oh, we're getting cheeky again, huh." He said, finger flicking her forehead with a smirk on his face.

She responded with a smile, then put the ring on the thumb of her right hand. It fits – at least somewhat. After that she gazed at her brother. "Thank you, Noctis", she said sentimentally. He nodded to her and looked as if he wanted to say something, but got interrupted by Prompto, who stood up and shouted "Do you guys see what I see?"

"The Imperial Army!", Gladiolus yelled. There was a military airship with the emblem of the Empire of Niflheim flying overhead.

Prompto asked, "How do they know we're here?" Then after a second looked daggers at Lucida. That was the moment he realized she could be some sort of spy. She could be betraying them, telling the Imperial Army their location and set them a trap.

Lucidas eyes grew huge, because she knew what Prompto was thinking. She shook her head slowly, because she knew the truth. She would never betray them – never in a million years!

Suddenly a bullet hit one of the back tires and they lost control of the car, thus they stopped off the road in tall grass. The military forces already stormed towards their car.

"I guess they are looking for a fight", Gladiolus said.

"They'll get one", Noctis muttered with a deep voice.

Lucida stood up. "Yeah", she murmured, then stepped on the headrest of Gladiolus seat, jumped over to the windshield and rushed down the engine bonnet running towards the military forces.

"Your Highness!", Ignis shouted.

Then Gladiolus yelled, "Hold up!"

But she wasn't listening. Her only concern was proving that she wasn't a traitor, and she could do so by fighting the army.

The four men jumped out of the car and ran after her, but right before they reached her they came to a full stop again. Ignis, Gladiolus and Promptos mouth fell wide open.

Lucida literally had a warrior gene.

She summoned a sword - a high tech katana, which was purely made of steel. On the blade was an engraving: _per aspera ad astra_. It's Latin and means _t_ _hrough difficulties to the stars_.

As one of the imperial soldiers was about to attack her, she dodged, leaving some kind of silvery bluish gleam. After that she retaliated and defeated him with her sword.

She turned around gazing at the others, looking like a cold-blooded beast with blazing red eyes.

"What are you standing there?" she asked.

The three of them were completely astonished. The powers ,Lucida just performed, can only be used by members of the royal family and the Royal Council. There is the proof on a silver platter. Lucida is part of the royal circle. That's for sure.

Gladiolus mentioned, "Indeed, full of surprises."

"Noctis", Ignis said. "You knew about it."

"Yes", he responded.

Then Prompto complained, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I simply didn't consider it necessary", Noctis explained with modesty.

"You didn't consider it necessary?", Prompto mimicked.

"Yeah, that's right. I didn't consider it necessary." Then Noctis asked, "It wouldn't have made any difference if I told you about it."

"Hey!", Lucida yelled. "Do I have to fight 'em alone?

While the high-toned men are discussing about things that can't be helped anyway she was struggling with an entire military troop.

"Sorry, Luce", Prompto said as they joined her defeating the Imperial Army.

As one of the other soldiers tried to attack Noctis from an ambush, he turned around and blocked with his sword, muttering,"This is your funeral" Then stabbed him.

It didn't take them long to clear the way. The battle was not a problem. The only problem was the flat tire.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Same Volition

The five of them stood still, carrying their arms, surrounded by dozens of dead soldiers.

„Too easy", Prompto smirked, approaching the others to give each of them a high five.

Then Ignis said putting his hand on his hip, „Who would have thought you are a born fighter, Lucida."

„I think training isn't necessary for you", Gladiolus added with a half smile, folding his arms.

Scratching her head Lucida said, „I didn't know how high your standards were."

„Compared to yours they are rather low, I guess", Prompto admitted with smile.

Then Ignis advised, „Noct, we can't continue driving, or else we will damage the Regalia even more. We need to change the tyre, but before that we have to buy a new one first."

Stroking his chin, Noctis responded, „Yeah, I know."

„Don't you have a spare tire?", Lucida asked in wonderment.

Shaking his head, Gladiolus answered, „No, we already used it."

„Oh", she said, realizing that they are deep in the mire. Suddenly it came to her mind, „Hey, I know a service station not far from here. We can get a new tire there."

„Do you know this place?" Ignis asked with curiosity.

„Yes, a little. I was at a shop next to the station when I was searching for Noctis", she affirmed.

Ignis nodded, „I suggest you and Gladiolus go to the service station and get the tire." Then he adjusted his glasses. „ There may come more soldiers of the Imperial Army. Noctis, Prompto and I will stand guard and keep the car safe."

„Do we even have the money to pay it?" Noctis asked, already prepared for the worst.

Then Lucida gazed at her brother with a slight smile, „Like I already said, I've saved enough money to track down thousands of brothers. I think I can afford a spare tire."

They had to get that tire quickly. Their father is being blackmailed and they are stuck in this place.

„Alright! Come on, kiddo", Gladiolus demanded ruffling her hair messy and started to move forward.

After that she narrowed her eyes and looked daggers at him, then she remarked, „Wrong way." Hinting the right direction with a head movement she said „This is the right way."

He shrugged with a smirk, „You are the boss"

heading for the Service Station he asked, „Say, how far is it to the station?"

„I don't know for sure, but I guess it's about a quarter-hour by foot, maybe 10 minutes if we hurry."

„We better hurry", he said. „Yeah", she responded. Both of them gained speed and rushed to the station.

When they arrived they met a young women in jeans shorts and a yellow crop jacket. Her curly hair was short and blond, and she wore a cap with a logo and the words „Hammer Head".

„Hello there! Welcome to Coernix Station!" Her voice sounded very lively.

Gladiolus and Lucida approached her, then she proceeded, „I'm Cindy, the mechanic of the station. What can I do for you?" She seemed to be very outgoing.

„Hey, Cindy!", Gladiolus greeted with a slight hint of a smile. „Hi", Lucida said.

„We need a tire" ,Gladiolus added looking in her olive-green eyes intensively. "Two tires", Lucida interrupted then glanced at him and said, „just in case."

„All right! Which type of tire do you need?", Cindy asked.

„Err..", Lucida turned her face to Gladiolus, hoping that he knows which tire is the right one. "This one", he said, handing Cindy a little piece of paper with numbers and letters: „ Tire size: 265/35R22. Wheel size and type: 22 x 9-inch aluminum with brushed nickel accents." Lucida had no clue what those weird Numbers meant, but she was relieved that Gladiolus knew about it.

"Okay. I'll go get you the tires." Cindy responded with a slight smile, turned around and headed for the storage place. Gladiolus eyes followed her until he couldn't see her anymore as she walked around the corner. Lucida wondered, if Gladiolus was interested in her. The way he looks at her is rather unusual. But indeed, She looks very pretty and charming Lucida thought.

She came back with a hand truck with the two tires. "Well...", she started saying. "Where's your car?", she asked putting her hand on her hip.

Moving a step forward Gladiolus said "Not here. It's less than a mile down the road."

"Okay, I can either tow your car and change the tires here, or you can hire a car to get the tires there and change it yourselves", she said situating next to Lucida.

"We'll hire a car", Lucida nodded then gazed at Gladiolus and added, "It's quicker this way."

"Alright! One tire costs 147 Gil. That makes 294 Gil for both tires. You can take the red car over there", Cindy pointed at the car. "The car you rent is on the house!", she informed with a cheerful voice.

"Thanks, Cindy! That's very kind of you! Here are 300 Gil", Lucida smiled.

"Thank you! And Come again!", Cindy said patting her hand on her red cap.

After they bought the tire and got the keys, Gladiolus lifted one of the tires up and carried it on his right shoulder.

„Erm..", Lucida stottered. „ Do you need any help?"

„You're not serious, are you, Lucy?" he said gazing at her then ruffled her hair again.

She stood still for a second, trying to recollect herself to not punch him in a rage, „I was just being friendly." She then tried carrying the other tire to the car. Considering that the tire was made of rubber and is filled with air, it was damn heavy.

„C'mon the others are waiting", Gladiolus exhaled turning around and noticed Lucida struggling with the tire to carry it. He came running with the aim to lend a hand. "I can manage that!" Lucida said with determination.

"Don't be stubborn. You're breaking your back!" He responded.

But she didn't listen. She went on carrying it and put it in car trunk. Then Gladiolus approached her and finger flicked her head. "Hey!" she exclaimed, and punched him slightly in his stomach, with a half smile on her face.

"Gimme the keys. I'll drive", Gladiolus demanded.

"No. I'll drive", Lucida responded cheekily. "Give me the keys!" Gladiolus commanded.

"Nope", Lucida said with a smile, turned around and got in the car. "She really is stubborn", he muttered to himself. Then he got in the car as well.

The drove off along the free road. The sky was clear and the weather was hot. They were almost there. Only a few minutes until they can finally get out of the stuffy car, which heated up because of the direct sunlight.

Meanwhile the other three boys expected more soldiers to arrive. "There is no time for a nap, Your Highness", Ignis said. Noctis opened his eyes, observing four more soldiers making towards the Regalia, where the three young men waited. Prompto patted Noctis cheek, "Stay awake, Noct" Then he walked up to the soldiers. Noctis just glowered at him. He hated being goaded like this.

"You know what to do, Noct", Ignis said and joined Prompto attacking the soldiers.

Then he muttered to himself with a deep voice, "They're going to regret this". After that he summoned his sword, and ran forward attacking the soldiers. While Ignis and Prompto fought with one of the soldiers, Noctis struggled two of them at once. Once Prompto shot one of them with his gun and Ignis finished the other with fire magic and his katana. They turned around, seeing Noctis being ambushed after he slayed one of his enemies.

"Your Highness!", Ignis shouted, running forward trying to protect him, closely followed by Prompto.

Suddenly the soldier's Weapon dropped, and he fell on the ground. Behind him stood Gladiolus with a massive sword. "You lose your touch, Your Highness", he said with a grin, holding his sword on his broad shoulders.

Smiling back, Noctis gave him a high five as a thanks for saving him and joked, "I did that on purpose."

Gladiolus laughed and said sarcastically "Of course you did!" He punched his shoulder slightly to provoke him jokingly. At least it was a slight punch by Gladiolus's standards. After Noctis got pushed back, he clenched his fingers and struck a blow, but couldn't bring about any damage. That little tangency from Noctis made Gladiolus chuckle, "That tickles." Then he pushed him back again.

"Hey!", Lucida yelled as she came running. "Don't you tease my brother like that!", she joked.

"He wouldn't be teased if he'd stop beating back", Prompto said cheekily then added, "but I guess he's too stubborn to comply."

"Nah", Lucida stood right beside Noctis, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "He's not being stubborn. This is pure willpower. Right, brother?", she smiled at him.

Nodding to her with a returning smile he muttered, "Yeah."

Prompto advised after a while,"We better get that tire changed and get out of this place."

"Yeah", Gladiolus responded, headed for the rent car and carried the tires to the Regalia.

After that Lucida suggested, "I'll bring the car back to the station, while you change the tire" She turned around and was about to head for the hired car, when Ignis interrupted, "I'll go with you." He adjusted his glasses, "You shouldn't go on your own. There still may be soldiers around."

Lucida smiled immediately, "Alright! Let's go!"

"We'll pick you up at the station", Gladiolus assured the two of them.

This time Lucida wasn't on the wheel. Ignis was the driver. They drove to the station and parked. After they got out of the car, they waited for almost twenty minutes.

"What takes them so long?", Lucida wondered.

"Perhaps there is another wave attack of the Imperial Army", Ignis said with his accent. Damn, his accent is appealing and always made Lucida weak. Ignis was not like the other young men of the group. He was different. In this short amount of time she learned to love his composed and serious temper.

"I hope they are alright.", Lucida said with concern.

"We do not need to worry. Those soldiers will not pose a problem to them", he said with a calm voice. Lucida nodded as a response.

Ignis glanced around and noticed the shop next to the service station, Lucida mentioned earlier. "I'll go to the shop nearby. Are you coming along?", he asked. Lucida responded, "Sure."

They got into the shop and looked around, trying to kill time. Ignis examined the glasses which stood at the corner. Lucida strode up to the showcase and marvelled at the necklace which was in it. The necklace's pendant was a silvery crescent with a howling wolf on it. 952 Sterling Silver. This is high quality. At least the little sign lying underneath says so. Who would have thought they would sell something this precious in a little shop like this? She touched the showcase with the fingertips of her right hand.

wondering what Lucida was looking at, Ignis came along, and stood right behind her. He was very close. She could feel his presence. As he looked over her shoulder, she could hear him breathing in and out. They stood like that for a few seconds. "Say..", Lucida began to ask with a sentimental voice, " Why do wolves howl at the moon?"

Lucida knew he was a well educated man, who would probably know the answer. And indeed he knew. " **Wolves howl to communicate with other wolves.** This communication serves to signal the pack to gather around, let the rest of the pack know where a single wolf is", He said making eye contact.

Lucida looked him deep in his green eyes and had the urge to just rip off those glasses he wore. His eyes were fascinating and she felt like those glasses were just in her way. Maintaining her composure she began saying in a low tone, "That's -" ,but got interrupted by Prompto who was approaching both of them and shook their shoulders. "There you are, buddies", he said grinning broadly. Ignis adjusted his glasses and looked down.

As Lucida run her fingers through her hair she asked, "What took you so long?"

"We had to fight some more soldiers of the Imperial Army", he explained. Then Noctis came in saying, "We filled up the tank. We're ready to leave. Come on, guys."

Lucida gave Prompto a confused look, "What's with him?"

"He Probably can't wait to sit in the car and take a nap", Prompto giggled.

Lucida laughed, "Probably."

Both of them went outside and sat down in the back of the car, next to Noctis, who already closed his eyes.

"Where's Iggy?". Gladiolus asked sitting in the front passenger seat.

"I think he's still in the shop", Prompto said. As Ignis came to the car fistful of ingredients he put them in the car trunk. After that he got behind the wheel of the vehicle, started the engine and hit the road to Tenebrae, a location before Niflheim.

"We probaly will not arrive in Tenebrae today, thus we will have to look out for an accommodation", he said.

Thereafter Prompto whined "I hope we don't end up sleeping in that uncomfortable tent, again"

"I hope so, too" Lucida agreed, then went on, "I didn't get a wink of sleep that night!"

"No worries. We'll find something", Gladiolus assured.

They drove 6 hours straight an it was already getting dark. Lucida rested on Noctis shoulder, who was asleep as well.

"Hey, Iggy. Do you see that Caravan over there?" Gladiolus said. "We can stay there for the night."

"That will do", Ignis responded and parked on the parking lot next to the caravan.

"But it isn't that far to Tenebrae. We could make it today", Prompto suggested.

"The Imperial Army found us in Duscae. They may expect us there as well", Ignis explained.

"You have a point there, Iggy", Prompto responded and got out of the car. "This place is quite remote, they'll probably won't find us here", he added.

Once Lucida and Noctis woke up again they all hopped out of the car. After they rented the caravan they entered and noticed that it looked way more comfy than that little tent they slept in last night. Everyone has at least a little bit of space. Noctis immediately laid down on the loft bunk.

"Don't fall asleep as yet, Your Highness", Gladiolus said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, we got plans to make", Prompto said and shook his shoulders. Noctis sat up with an annoyed face and pushed Promptos arms away.

"We can make it to Niflheim by tomorrow evening. We'll pass Tenebrae and head directly to Niflheim", Noctis decided. Then laid down on his back again.

"A long way lies ahead", Prompto muttered. Then Ignis said "We need to get get up earlier as today, if we want to reach Niflheim"

"Yeah, and no flat tires this time", Gladiolus added.

After they ate sandwiches, prepared by Ignis, they decided to get up at 4 am and all laid down on the loft bunk and tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a rough day – first a long car trip and second arrival in Niflheim, which means a lot of fighting.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Same Fear

Again Lucida couldn't get a wink of sleep. Broad awake she lay on her back, staring at the bottom side of the upper bed. That double loft bunk was pretty convenient. It was a bit narrow, but they managed to accommodate five men. Definitely way more comfortable than that small tent they spent the night in last night.

Then Lucida sat up, leaning against the wall next to the bed, bending knees, and ran her hands through her hair.

Tomorrow is the day. She will meet her father for the first time of her life, if everything goes according to the plan. Will he reject her? Thinking about it made her even more nervous than she already was. She hid her face in her hands. Suddenly she could hear footsteps coming closer and closer. She looked up and recognized Ignis silhouette sitting down on the bed. Immersed in her thoughts she didn't even notice him being away in the first place.

"Can't sleep again, Your Highness?", he whispered and looked at her briefly after he took off his glasses. He was about to go back to sleep, but knew that she was full of insecurities and doubts by merely looking at her.

Shaking her head Lucida responded, "not one bit." Then she glanced at him, noticing him without his glasses on. As her eyes opened wide she lowered her head again, to hide her affection. He was gorgeous.

After a few seconds Ignis muttered, "you do not need to worry. It will come out alright."

As Noctis's understanding consultant he learned a lot about his personality and his family, thus he can almost predict what will happen next. And He knew that the next act won't include abandoning his sister. It's quite the opposite. Noctis has taken her to her heart already. And King Regis will do so too, Ignis assumed.

"Maybe", she murmured softly. After that Ignis came closer, leaning against the wall and sat right next to Lucida. "I understand your concerns" he whispered then after a pause proceeded "But worrying will never change the outcome."

Lucida nodded slightly, "you do have a point there."

"So do not keep that sad face, Your Highness", he whispered wrapping his arm around her. They remained silent for a while, until he added, "But for now we should catch up on some sleep."

"Yeah", Lucida muttered with a slight smile and lay her head on his warm shoulder. She could sniff the scent of hair gel and a little bit of sweat, but he also smelled a bit spicy. Probably because he is always the one cooking.

They closed their eyes, Ignis trying to sleep, and Lucida still thinking about what might happen tomorrow. She wondered what her father is like. All her life she lived without a father figure, and that left a big hole in her heart. Being hold by Ignis arms made her feel like she never did before. She felt secure and appreciated – nothing she can talk about back at home. Thinking about her mother's last words before she left, "I wish you were never born" made her come to the thought that it can't get any worse, even if she gets rejected by her father. Getting back home was no option. There clearly was no turning back. If you start something then you should make sure to finish it.

Overthinking for too long once again, Lucida heard Ignis already breathing slowlier. He must have been very tired, since he fell asleep that quickly. She made full use of Ignis not wearing his glasses and gazed at him for seconds, memorizing every detail of his beautiful face. After that she stroke his chin, then ran her hand through his soft hair and gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead. Resting her head on his shoulder again, she closed her eyes ti fall asleep as well.

After Lucida woke up she looked around. Strange, she thought. Where are the others? She remembered Ignis putting his jacket on the chair, but now its not there. The Cup on the table and even the car key was gone. No one was here

She got up frantically in total panic. Did they leave her? Did they really leave her after all? It can't be possible. She rushed out of the Caravan, searching for one of the four boys, noticing that the car is not there. Where the hell are they?

Taking a few steps backward she broke down completely in despair , gasping for air. She was alone again. Tears were streaming down her face.

She sat on the ground with her face downcast, until she heard an engine drone and pebbles crackle. It was the boys car. They parked and hopped out of the car, approaching her. But it were not only the four men. There was another familiar face.

"You're such a burden", it said with a voice, she already heard before. Lucida looked up and saw her mother looking down at her. "I wish you were never born", she said with disgust. Those coldblooded words felt like her heart was being stabbed. As Lucida gasped for air heavily, not able to handle the situation, they turned her their back and headed for the car, abandoning her.

"Luce! Wake up!", Prompto yelled, raising her out of sleep by shaking her shoulders frantically. She jumped awake with wide opened eyes, breathing in and out fast. Letting go of her cold shoulders he said, "you scared me!" She sat up covering her face with her hands. "You tossed and turned like fury just now. Had a bad dream?", Prompto asked almost with a cheerful voice as always. "A nightmare", Lucida muttered.

"What did your dream about?", he asked.

Lucida sighed. "You guys left, and my mother ...", then after a pause she proceeded "I was... alone."

Prompto gave her a comforting look. Noctis already told him a bit about her problems with her mother. When Lucida mentioned her mother being involved in her dream, he immediately understood. Then he jumped next to her looking at her with a smile, saying with the aim to cheer her up, "You know what I once dreamt about? There was this bi—g behemoth and he was running after me. I was so afraid. When I woke up I was being headlocked by Gladiolus. Said it was the revenge for pulling back the chair as he wanted to sit down."

Lucida smiled. "Prompto is just Prompto." He tilted his head and gave her a confused look. "Keep that smile. You may not know it yet, but your enthusiasm is priceless, so don't ever change."

"Uh-" , Prompto exhaled then said kiddingly with a grin, "you making me blush."

She laughed as a response, then stood up and asked, "Say, where are the others?"

"Buying potions and stuff. Preparing for the battles which lie ahead of us in Niflheim."

"Ah, so they're – ", she got interrupted by the heavily opened door, which made Prompto and Lucida startle. They watched Gladiolus coming in, squashing through the small door of the caravan. By some wonder he managed to get his wide shoulders inside.

Indeed, Gladiolus was a man of large built and an imposing physique, but even more cheerful and affectionate. Nothing that Lucida expected at first. She thought he'd be smug and grumpy. But she quickly realized, that he is a truly faithful man.

As Ignis and Noctis came inside as well, she greeted, "Morning!"

Somehow she was relieved to see all four men right in front of her, after that daunting dream. She had the strong urge to just hug all of them, after all they've done for her, in only two short days. It still was strange and she still felt a bit insecure, but she knew she is in safe keeping, not like back at home.

"Morning", they responded. "Finally up and about, Luce?" Gladiolus added and ruffled her hair messy. Lucida glowered at him through the strands of hair that were covering her face.

"Sis, are you ready?", Noctis asked as he rested his hands on his hip. "Yes", Lucida nodded. "Good. Time to hit the road", he responded. "Indeed, it's high time", Ignis added.

They went out of the caravan and got into the Regalia. Ignis sitting at the wheel, next to him Gladiolus. Prompto, Noctis and Lucida sat in the back of the car. The driver started the engine and drove off. The road was clear, thus they got on fast. After five hours of drive they decided to have a short rest at a petrol station. While Gladiolus was busy tanking up Prompto and Noctis stretched their legs. Lucida crossed the road and went to a meadow full of red little poppies across from the petrol station. It was windy and the sky was overcast. She kneeled down, plucked a poppy and stood up again. She dropped every petal and let it be blown away by the wind.

Suddenly she noticed someone standing beside her – It was Ignis. "We will arrive Niflheim soon", he said. She winced slightly, then said, "Yes", and brushed her hair behind her ear to glance at him. He adjusted his glasses. "Before we reach Niflheim", he started saying after a pause and turned around to face her properly, "I want to give you this." He put out a silvery necklace from his inside pocket of his blazer and held it high. Lucidas eyes opened wide. It was the necklace with the wolf on it, they looked at in the shop next to the station yesterday. Immediately she started grinning broadly and took a few steps closer to him. "You shouldn't have!", she exhaled. Ignis smiled, "You wanted to have the necklace, or am I wrong, Your Highness?" "Uh... Yes, But – ", she paused and didn't know what to say. "Please, accept it", he requested with a slight smile. Nodding slightly Lucida turned around and hold her hair up with her hands so that Ignis can put the necklace around her. He placed the hair that Lucida didn't grab aside and closed the clasp click of the necklace. Letting go of her long brown hair, she turned around touching the wolf-pendant with her fingertips. The gift made her truly happy. Giving him an intense gaze she said with a tender voice, "Thank you, Ignis!" He put his hands on her shoulders, then she leant her body against his. Putting his hands on her back he pulled her even closer so that her head rested on his chest. She wrapped her arms around him, but under his blazer, so that she could feel the warmth of his back. Remaining in that position for a while, they enjoyed the silence only hearing the sound of the wind. Then they slowly let go of each other. Ignis hand still lying on her shoulder, and Lucidas hand still grabbing his blazer, both of them constantly making eye contact.

"Hey, Iggy!", Prompto suddenly shouted from the other side of the street, "I got some coffee for ya! Ebony coffee, that's what you like, right?"

Immediately Ignis and Lucida stepped aback so that there was at least a one meter gap between them. "Just a moment", Ignis responded loudly and pulled at the collar of his blazer.

He started approaching Prompto to go and get his coffee and asked Lucida, "Do you want a coffee too, Your Highness?"

"Uh – ", She began to say, "I think I'm already nervous enough. Coffee will do no good." He smiled, "I suppose so."

When they reached Prompto, he gave Ignis his beloved Ebony coffee. Then Prompto said with a cheeky smile, "I'll leave you two alone again", and pushed them a bit closer. Both of them sighed and gave each other a look, but Lucida looking way more confused than Ignis. Then they looked back at Prompto and watched him jumping away in amusement.

"Highness", Ignis said as Noctis passed by and got hold of him, "I suggest we make plans how to invade the palace in Niflheim."

"Gladio! Prompto!", Noctis shoutet. "What?", Gladiolus asked as he looked over the car to the three of them.

"We gotta forge out a plan", he answered. Prompto and Gladio made his way to the group, then Gladio asked, "So, what's the plan?", and looked around in the group.

"Simple. We go inside that Palace, look for King Regis and sneak out again", Prompto said with a grin and rested his hands on his belt.

"It's not that simple", Gladiolus said with a slight smile and put him in a headlock. Flailing around Prompto whined "Let go of me!"

Ignoring the fact, that Prompto was being teased again, Ignis advised, "Indeed, we should not take the main entrance."

"Dead sure they expect us there", Gladiolus affirmed and tightened his arms around Prompto's neck even more. Prompto tried to get out of the headlock but failed.

Then Noctis said, "Even if we would go in the backway, they are expecting us everywhere."

"So you wanna take the front door?", Prompto asked as Gladiolus finally let go of him.

Noctis nodded slightly. Then Ignis asked, "Your Highness. Are you sure?"

"At the slightest indication of our presence, all hell will break loose.", the prince explained. "It won't make any difference how we invade, so we'll just fight our way through."

Gladiolus sighed, "This is gonna be tough."

"This is to be expected", Ignis added as he rested his arms on his hip.

"We'll beat the hell out of them!", Prompto said almost in anticipation. "Everything's settled?", Gladiolus asked. Noctis nodded at him then focused on his sister, who remained abstaining from the whole conversation.

"We still don't know where exactly our father is located in that palace, but I'm sure we'll find him", Noctis said with the aim to comfort his sister at least a little bit. "Yeah", she muttered and didn't even look at him.

As Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis went back to the car Noctis asked her, "You are dead nervous, am I right?"

"huh?", she exclaimed in surprise. "How do you know?"

"It's written all over her face", her brother answered. Lucida stroke her forehead. Then she glanced at him and asked with a stressed expression "Aren't you nervous?" He nodded and assured, "I am". After a pause he said "Don't be afraid. Everything will be fine in the end"

Noctis slipped into his brother role again and tried his best. Lucida expected her brother to be rather cold, someone who doesn't talk about his feelings. And he really did not talk about them a lot, but she appreciated his consideration he showed just now. In this short amount of time they grew extremely close. "Thank you, Noctis", after a brief pause she added, "I mean it." Her voice was shaking and she just felt the urge to cry, but she hold her tears back. From now on she is not the same as she used to be. She has to be strong now to save her father, and for Noctis. She owes him a lot and doing her best now is the least she can do. He responded with a slight smile, then looked around, noticing the others already waiting in the car, "We should leave. Are you ready, sis?" After she nodded they headed for the car and pulled away.

Fear is temporary. If Lucida doesn't overcome her fear now, she will regret it forever. Courage is a decision, and she chose to not let fear rule her life. If you start something then you should definitely make sure to finish it.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Same Threat

It didn't took them long to arrive in Niflheim. The place was foggy and cold, and the sky was covered with dark clouds. The buildings weren't as big as in Lucis, but still huge. The only thing that seemed strange was that there was no Imperial Army around. Even after they reached the palace of Niflheim, no enemy was found. This can only mean one thing – They are already waiting for them.

The five of them hopped out of the car and stared at the huge palace in front of them. "Now things get serious", Noctis muttered. "You ready?", he asked the group.

"Yeah! Let's get 'em guys!", Prompto said with a motivated voice.

"Sis?", he asked demanding an explicit answer. She glanced at him with a tense expression, but he could feel her determination deep inside. "I am ready", she said with conviction.

"Alright, Let's do it". Gladiolus murmured as all of them started to head for the entrance. It was a wide light-grey door. Noctis grabbed the silvery doorknob and slowly opened the door. Light fell in the dark foyer. They got inside and looked around. Still no one is there. A trap?

"Maybe we should branch up in two groups to look for King Regis?", Prompto suggested with a low tone, to prevent someone to hear them.

"Yeah. It's probably quicker this way.", Noctis responded and looked around in the group. "Iggy, Prompto. you go with Lucida. Gladio, you come with me", he commanded.

"Yes, Your Highness", Ignis responded and turned around facing Prompto and Lucida. "Shall we take this way?", He asked the two of them as he pointed to one of the corridors on the left side. Prompto nodded, "Let's go." They headed to look for the King on the west wing of the Palace while as Noctis, and Gladio checked the east wing.

Lucida went fast – very fast. Not even the boys managed to keep up with her with their long legs. Ignis took some quick steps forward, grabbing Lucida's wrist. "Highness! Not so fast!", he said with an admonishing look. "If you walk any faster the soldiers might get you ,and we not only have to look for your father, but for you too!", Prompto added with a serious voice. Then she apologized, "I-I'm sorry. I won't do – "

"Don't you dare do that again. You can't just run away like that!" Ignis said. He isn't the type of person who interrupts someone who is talking, thus Lucida was damn sure, that Ignis really was upset. It was quite unusual for him to react like this, but somehow she liked seeing him with any kind of emotion on his face, since he is is a very composed man. Then he sighed, adjusted his glasses and averted his gaze. "My apologies."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "No", she muttered. Trying to apologize again she said "I'm sor – " but she didn't get a chance to speak, because Ignis made a sudden noise. "Shh!", he put his forefinger on her mouth to make her fall quiet. Her eyes opened even wider, as he came closer making a protective pose in front of her. "Someone's coming", Prompto whispered. He took a brief look around the corner and saw one soldier approaching another, then looked back at Ignis holding two fingers up.

"They are here!", one of the Soldiers said. "The Prince?", the other asked. "Yes, and his companion. They are now in the basement. Aemulus Dux needs us there. Let's hurry!"

Aemulus Dux? Lucidas heart almost jumped out of her chest. Aemulus Dux is the name of her mother's fianc **é** . What is he doing here? If it really is him, then the problem is far worse than she thought it would be.

Prompto looked around the corner, watched them walking away. They are probably heading for the basement, where Noctis and Gladiolus are. "We gotta follow them", he murmured. The three of them chased after them without attracting attention and found Gladiolus and Noctis in a big room, surrounded by dozens of soldiers. As Ignis dared to take a look around the corner, he saw Noctis and Gladiolus being kept in check by some soldiers. The prince tried to start fighting when he saw Ignis, since he thought they would have a chance if the six of them would fight, but backfired on them and now all of them were threatened with guns and forced to their knees, only Lucida refusing to kneel down as she saw her future-stepfather. "You!", she exclaimed.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice. "Lucida? What are you doing here?" Her mother stepped into the room, then made towards Lucida completely overcome with hysteria. "I'd ask you the same question", she said with a cold tone. "You shouldn't be here!", here mother said. Ignoring her mothers concerns completely Lucida asked, "What is _he_ doing here?" and pointed at her stepfather by making a head movement. "He's -"

"Rosa!", her fiancé yelled. "Hold your tongue", he added in a humiliating way. Rosa just lowered her head and took a few steps aback. Then He said with a half smile, "I am Aemulus Dux, leader of the Imperial Army. I will obtain the crystal and Niflheim will rise again."

"You son of a -" Lucida yelled and tried to break away from the soldier, but got hit by him with a gun.

"Where is my father?", Noctis asked with a harsh voice.

Aemulus raise an eyebrow. "You want to see your father? So be it." He turned around to some of the soldiers and gave them a hand gesture, which made them go inside a room behind them, grab the King, trailed him after them and pushed him to the floor next to Aemulus.

"Father!", Noctis exclaimed trying to move forwards him but was being hold back. "Noctis!",the king yelled back and muttered "My son." He was not killed by their enemies. He was alive and that relieved the prince and his companions a little bit. Gazing at his father, Noctis noticed the clothes covered with blood and a lot of scratches on his face. The King must have been through hell to protect the crystal and his family.

"The Crown Prince from the kingdom of Lucis, Noctis Lucis Caelum", Aemulus said with a slight hint of joy in his voice, as he took a golden knife out of his jacket pocket and pushed it against Regis's throat. "You have to decide. Give me the crystal and your father will be safe, or you keep it and I'll put an end to his life", he threatened. "Choose wisely."

Then the King said with a shaky voice, "Forget about me, Noctis. Stop him!"

"Shut your mouth!", Aemulus commanded as he pressed the knife closer to the King's throat, leaving a superficial cut. Noctis's heart almost broke into thousand pieces as he saw his father suffering.

"Noct, what are we gonna do?", Prompto asked in despair. The Prince felt his heart rate increasing which made the blue of his eyes being replaced by blood red. "It's all or nothing!", he yelled as he teared away from the soldiers and tackled Aemulus, summoning his sword and stabbed his enemy in the stomach.

"Aemulus!", Lucida's mother exclaimed and fell to the ground next to her fiancee as everyone began to draw their swords. Aemulus coughed and spit blood. Although the stab must have injured him severely, he managed to stand up and steady oneself with Rosa's help. Now there were 6 men against a whole military troop

"Noct! There are too many of 'em!", Prompto complained as he shot some of the soldiers. "We have to flee!", Ignis advised as he saw backup entering the room. The six of them started to head upstairs, but stopped again. "Lucida!", Aemulus cawed. "You stay here!", he commanded and threatened her by holding his knife against her mother's throat.

The Princess panicked and turned her weapon against him, "You bastard!" She was totally pissed off by her future-stepfather and his ridiculous little breakfast knife. She wanted to move forward with the aim to fight him, but felt her arm being strongly grabbed. "We have to go!", Gladiolus said. "No!", she screamed and tried to break away. Gladiolus pulled her back and grabbed her arm even stronger, "If you go now, everything we did will be for nothing!"

Lucida looked over to Noctis and her father. Gladiolus is right. After all she has been through and after all she has put the others through she just can't give in. Her Brother and her father are the reason why she even started. And now they stand right in front of her waiting for her to go with them. She cannot leave them.

"He won't harm her. He need's her", Noctis assured.

Her hesitation has become determination again. "You're right", she nodded. They quickly moved forward after Gladiolus cleared the way with his giant sword.

They made their way upwards out of the palace, doing their best to protect the king. Once he was a great fighter, but the days are over. However he still knew how to defend himself and he still was good at it.

As fast as possible they burst through the big front door, ran to the Regalia and hopped in. Unfortunately the Regalia only has 5 seats, but that was no big deal. Thus Lucida just sat on Noctis lap.

Ignis started the engine and took of, leaving the soldiers, who failed shooting at them, behind. The four on the back seat , Prompto and the Caelum family, turned around and took cover from the shots. Then they watched Aemulus limping through the door until they couldn't see him anymore. Why is he so tenacious? Why was he even able to walk? Noctis's attack definitely must have injured him heavily. Of that there is no doubt.

Finally the road was clear and all of them felt relief, but not for long. As they drove around the corner they were confronted by a giant behemoth. Ignis braked hard. This road is the only way out of the city, thus driving back was no option.

Ignis countenance hadn't changed one bit. While he was planning the next action he still kept holding the steering wheel. "What now?", Prompto asked. Noctis sighed with despair. At no notice Gladiolus opened the door, got out of the car and whipped out his sword. The behemoth lowered his head, facing his opponent, and roared loudly, so that Gladiolus's clothes and his hair fluttered. Then Gladiolus turned his face to Noctis. "I'll handle this. Prompto! Ignis! Bring them to safety!"

Immediately Noctis jumped up. "I'm not gonna leave you behind!", he yelled and ran to Gladiolus, closely followed by Ignis. "Highness!", he exclaimed. As the behemoth took a big swing to hit the prince, Ignis covered him and was pushed 3 metres away by the monster. "Ignis!", Noctis exclaimed. Gasping for air Lucida ran up to Ignis and dragged him slightly away from the battlefield. That monster left three deep scratches on his chest and his shirt was completely destroyed and covered with blood. He was unconscious and bled heavily. Lucida applied firm pressure to the wound, when the King came running. "The first aid kit!", she said with a teary-eyed face. He needs medical attention now. Thus Regis frantically ran to the car trunk and brought the first aid kit to Lucida. She cut his shirt open with the scissors from the kit and then bandaged his chest and his shoulder with Regis's help. After they finished, the King patted Lucidas shoulder, "He will be alright."

When he was at Ignis's age, Regis had his battles as well, and he probably was injured as severely as Ignis, too. If he says that he will make it, then he must be right. He just have to be.

Gladiolus, Prompto and Noctis kept fighting to no avail. The Behemoth constantly flails around. "It's no use", Prompto claimed, as he shot the behemoth in the eye and was defenseless for a split second. Suddenly a light dawned on Gladiolus, "Noct, do you see this?" he pointed to the behemoth's head. "His horn?", Noctis asked. "Yeah, I think it's his weak spot", Gladiolus responded. "Prompto, you have to shoot his eyes. After that, Noct, you have to jump on his head and damage his horn. It's our only chance!" Suddenly the behemoth attacked the three of them, but Gladiolus blocked and the enemy was vulnerable. "Now!", Gladio shouted. Just as planned Prompto precisely shot in his eye and the monster fell back. Then Noctis used his sword in teleporting him to the horn and closed in for the kill. His sword stuck deep near his horn and the behemoth lost consciousness. "Let's get out of here fast", Prompto said.

Quickly they all got in the car. Gladiolus carried Ignis to the car and put him down on the lap of the Caelum's in the back seat. He substituted for Ignis and drove off as long as they still can.

Ignis' head was lying on Lucida's lap. She stroke his hair, when she noticed more blood on her hands. She tilted his head and found another wound. "It's nothing serious", Noctis noted with a low tone. She nodded and let out a sigh of relief. Ignis's glasses are missing. He must have lost them when he fell on the ground and lost consciousness. When Lucida continued holding his face, Regis saw the ring with the skull , which once belonged to him, on Lucida's thumb. Now that they have a more or less a quiet moment, he finally asked with a confused expression on his face, "Who are you?" Lucida's heart rate increased. "Er. I..", she stottered. "The way you fought against the soldiers earlier... those powers. They can only be used by members of the Royal Family and the Royal Council", the King added with a sceptical voice. She breathed faster and she could feel her eyes slowly but surely tinge red. As she opened her mouth in order to speak her brother preempted her. "Maybe we should talk about that later", he suggested. The Imperial army probably is close on their heels. Their first priority is to leave this place and to properly doctor Ignis. Family reunion can wait for now. "It'll take us a while until we leave Niflheim, but you should have a talk when we rest", Gladiolus agreed. Lucida's heart rate decreased again. Still the atmosphere was extremely tense.

After what seemed like eternity, they arrived at a motel and engaged two rooms. They put Ignis, who still was unconscious, down on one of the beds. "The bleeding stopped for now. We should put on a new bandage when he's awake again", Gladiolus said. "Thanks, Gladio", Noctis said being downcast. "And you too, Prompto." He felt guilty, that his friends always put themselves in danger for his sake. At once Prompto put his arm around Noctis with a big smile on his face. "What's with that face, Noct? We're friends right?" Then he ruffled the prince's hair messy with zest.

After Lucida washed the blood from her hands and exit the bathroom, she was confronted by her father. "I have waited long enough. Tell me, who are you, young lady?", the King said with a serious tone. Lucida lowered her head. Indeed. He waited long enough, and Lucida too. It has been 18 years. This is the moment she has been waiting for. There's no running back now. Without saying a word, Gladiolus patted Promptos shoulder and both of them left the room.

Regis gazed at her expectantly. She let out a slow and shaky breath. Where does she even start? The King looked over to his son, who then came closer, patting his sister's shoulder, "Lucida. Tell him what you told me." She nodded, then she said, "My name is Lucida Procul Caelum. I am... " she took a deep breath, "I am your daughter." The King's eyes opened wide. She continued explaining, "The woman we saw earlier, Rosa, she's my mother." Her father exhaled and after a few seconds he stroke his daughter's cheek. Those were the longest 3 seconds of Lucida's life. "I never knew", the king murmured. "You", he said "resemble her." She looked down to hide her eyes glowing red, but he put her head up again by touching her chin with his fingertips and looked her deep in the eyes. He saw it. This is the conclusive proof. Lucida Procul Caelum is his daughter. "Carry your head high, my child. There is royal blood running through your veins", Then the king hugged her and muttered "You have a strong heart."

Of course he had his concerns, because he knew her mother was from Niflheim. Niflheim, the enemy nation of Lucis. But for now he will leave it at that. For now he will enjoy the moment with his long lost daughter.

After a long hug, Regis turned to Noctis putting his hand on his shoulder. "My son" he said, "I am proud of you." Finally they have the time to realize what just happened. They saved the crystal and the king of Lucis. Suddenly they heard a low groan. "Ignis?"


	7. Chapter 7 - The Same Plan

Ignis woke up groaning with pain. "Where am I?", he asked as he wanted to sat up, but hissed and fell back. The twinge he felt in his chest was beyond painful.

"Take it easy", Noctis said. Apart from his missing glasses Ignis' double vision impeded his power of sight. He was surrounded by blurriness.

"What happened?", he asked as he rubbed his eyes, hoping he will see better. "You were-", Noctis was interrupted by Prompto, who bursted into the room with joy on his face, followed by Gladiolus.

"Hey, Iggy! You're awake!", Prompto nearly screamed. "How many fingers am I holding up?", he asked cheekily with a grin.

Ignis sighed. His head drones because of the fearful din Prompto is causing. But he knew that was the way Prompto deals with serious situations like this. Acting a play, acting like a blithe spirit, not showing how high his walls are.

The injured could almost see clearly again. Then he muttered, "two." "Ding ding! Correct answer", Prompto kept yelling, "Not bad, Iggy. And that without you having your glasses on"

"Ignis, we fought against a behemoth, do you remember? It hit you and you lost conciousness", Gladiolus explained. "Behemoth?", he asked himself in confusion. They fought against a behemoth. Noctis wanted to help Gladiolus, but the monster attacked him. "I remember", Ignis responded. He remembers everything. Right down to the last detail.

"Where are we?", he asked once again.

"We're in a motel far from that palace. We're safe, Ignis. For now ", Noctis assured, then after a while noted, "Your bandage." His bandage was soaked with blood. "We need to put on a new one."

The prince unbandaged him carefully and examined three elongated deep wounds. He blamed himself for Ignis' injuries. If he didn't run after Gladiolus, Ignis wouldn't have been hit by that monster.

Prompto creased his face, "That doesn't look good", he commented.

"Seems like they need to be stitched up", Gladiolus said. "It really is deep", Lucida noted.

"Okay, guys. I have no idea how to stitch a wound. I'm off the hook", Prompto said and made his way out of the room again, followed by Gladiolus, "You don't expect me to have steady hands, do you?", he said and left the room with his blonde companion. The eyes of the remainders fell on Noctis, but he just approached his sister saying, "I'll go get you the tools. You can doctor him, nurse", and beat a retreat. Lucida heaved an internal and eternal sigh. Why me, she asked herself.

"I hope I can at least count on you, Highness", Ignis murmured. Lucida smiled and seated herself next to him. "Don't worry. I won't let you down, Ignis." She helped him to sit up. "But you should know, that I've never sewed a wound before", she forewarned. "It's quite simple actually" , Ignis said. Right on time Noctis arrived with the utensils and gave them to Lucida: a needle, cotton, bandages and a bottle of vodka. Then he quickly made a bunk with his father and left doctor and patient alone.

"Now what, instructor?", she asked. Ignis smirked. "First of all you clean and dis-infect the wound", he guided.

"Got it." She took the bottle of vodka and cleaned the wound and the needle. As the alcohol got in contact with the wound, Ignis's face slightly contorted with pain, which eased afterwards.

"Now that you sterilized the needle, you start sewing the wound. Make sure you keep as close to the edge of the skin as possible", he instructed.

She pressed the needle through his skin, which made Ignis hiss and give a wince of pain. The stitch was anything but close to the edge.

"Sorry", she said and gave him a pitying look.

"That was painful", Ignis said with a smirk. He leaned forward, first looking her deep in the eyes then staring at her soft lips. "You have to make up for this", he purred, which made her heart race. He tilted his head, slowly coming closer and closer. Lucidas eyes blazed scarlet. His lips almost came into touch with hers, but he pulled back. He watched Lucidas eyes freeze to its usual azure. "You should continue sewing the wound", he said and averted his face. How dare he try to kiss the princess. King Regis' daughter. Noctis' little sister. Retain control, he thought. Now is not the time to come up with foolish ideas.

In pure silence Lucida sewed Ignis injury, this time more carefully than before, and finished with a decent knot in the cotton. This extemporary treatment took a couple of minutes, yet felt like eternity. The injury on his chest was nothing compared to the shame he felt. Trying to keep temper, he said "I thank you, Highness."

"N-No worries", she stammered and took flight as soon as possible.

Noctis and his father stood outside leaning their arms on the railing, watching the moon emerge from the dark clouds.

As Lucida came out of the room she joined them at the railing. "How's Ignis?", Noctis asked.

"He's alright. His wounds is all stitched up", she responded. "Good", he nodded.

It was a quiet evening, almost like the calm before the storm. "Father," Noctis dared vanquishing his slight fear and asked, "what happened 18 years ago?"

The King let out a deep breath. After he met Lucida he knew his son would ask sooner or later. "18 years ago, Rosa was involved in the peace treaty between Lucis and Niflheim. It was two years after your mother passed away. Rosa and I fell in love, but there was always only one woman for me. Your mother, Noctis. So I abandoned Rosa," he said. "She was a member of the Royal Council, but after we quit she switched sides and the peace treaty failed," he explained. "Since then she is with the Military General of Niflheim, Aemulus Dux, claiming the last crystal by force."

Noctis and Lucidas eyes met, having the same tought in mind. "Does she want to take vengeance?", Noctis asked.

"Maybe so. In any case, her hurt feelings are of advantage to Aemulus. To him she is just a mere puppet," Regis explained. Lucida hung her head low, "Why, mother?" , she muttered to herself. The King gazed at his daughter and tried to find consolatory words, "The Rosa I met in Niflheim is not the one I knew 18 years ago. Back then she was full of confidence and never lost faith."

Lucida remained silent. There is nothing good Lucida sees in her mother. Her mother betrayed the Kingdom of Lucis. Everyone makes mistakes, but did her mother merely made a mistake or did she commit an unforgivable sin? To stop herself from overthinking once again she decided to have an early night. "I'm going to bed", she said and headed to her room.

When the two remaining were alone, the King noted, "Aemulus craves for the crystal. He is a threat to the whole of Lucis."

"He will pay," Noctis said resolutely. "Because of him mother...", Noctis hands clinged firmly to the railing. "Because of the imperial army mother died", he said clenching his teeth. Every Misfortune is caused by Aemulus, he thought. It all leads to him. Noctis lost his mother in the war, and now Lucida may have the same fate as him. He swore he won't let that happen. Aemulus has to pay for what he has done to him. For what he has done to them all.

The King patted his hand on Noctis's shoulder and gave him a comforting look. "Listen to me Noctis, I thought that it all was in the past," he said. "Believe me, I never knew about Lucida. I never wanted to hide anything, my son. Back then you were just a little boy."

Noctis nodded. "I know. The past cannot be changed," he said. "I'm just glad you are safe now, father."

"I wish I could have saved you all the trouble," the King said. "I am sorry." But Noctis was the one who felt sorry, thinking that he was unable to protect the Kingdom of Lucis nor his father.

Accompanied by the feeling of strain, they went to bed.

Noctis's heart pounded. His blood throbbed through his veins. Eyes wide opened and staring t the ceiling. His thoughts kept him awake and let hours pass by. He couldn't think about anything but Aemulus. He is the reason for everyone's suffering. Noctis made up his mind. Aemulus Dux will pay.

Slowly and quietly he moved out of his bed, not waking his father or Ignis, who slept in his room as well. He took the car key from the table and opened the door slightly to look whether the coast is clear. Just when he was about to sneak out he heard footsteps coming closer and closer. He dared a glance outside and recognized the silhouette of a slinking woman. It was Lucida. In an instant he stepped outside asking, "where are you going?"

Lucida stopped immediately. "Uh," she didn't turn around. "I wanted to go for a walk and catch some fresh air, you know."

Noctis closed the door, so none of the others would wake up and hear them talking. "You're a bad liar," he noted. Lucida finally turned around and looked at him with a slight smile. "Is it that obvious?", she asked.

"Yeah, a rather lousy performance," he responded and made Lucida let out a quiet giggle. Suddenly Noctis night-time jokes turned into a stern rebuke, "So where did you wanna go?" She responded with absolute silence. "Did you want to safe your mother?" he asked whilst he already knew the answer. Lucida nodded and averted her face. "All by yourself?", he spoke in a loud whisper, "Are you completely nuts?", his whisper screamed. Noctis had to pull himself together to not arouse the entire motel from deep sleep.

Then his sister muttered, "I know it's foolish."

"Listen to me, Lucida. I can't blame you for wanting to safe your mother from Aemulus, but I won't let you do this alone," he said and stepped two vigorous steps closer to Lucida. Now he sounded more anxious than angry. She can't step into his life and then just leave like that, he thought. Noctis gazed at her, awaiting an answer.

"I'm sorry, Noct" she said after a brief hush, "I'm sorry for putting you through all this."

Out of nowhere her brother suggested, "Let's go and get Aemulus together"

Confusion was written all over her face. "Huh?"

"This is our fight. Let's finish him together", he said. Hesitating for a moment she took a deep breath and then nodded, "okay."

After she realized the imprudent plan they made, she quipped, "We have a much higher chance now with the two of us"

Noctis could feel the pure irony. "Are we getting cocky again?", he bantered. "But at least I have this," he said and held up the car key with a proud half smile. She returned a smile and the siblings made their way to the Regalia and got in. Noctis started the engine. "Let's hit it", he said and drove off in the direction of Niflheim.

The night seemed calm but was full of chaos instead. Ignis' wound ached and burned like hell and woke him from his sleep. He sat up with slight groaning and switched on the bedside lamp. That was when he realized Noctis' bed was empty. Then he looked over to the dark bathroom and called with low voice, "Highness?" But he got no response. In a flash Prompto and Gladiolus came rushing in. "Is Luce in here?", Prompto asked and alerted the king. Then he fell all silent. "Where's Noct?", Gladiolus asked. As Ignis noticed the missing car key he leaped to his feet but immeadiately lost balance. Gladiolus is swift to react and rescued him from toppling down. "Steady on!", he exclaimed.

"The keys!", Ignis noted.

They looked over to the table but the car key is nowhere to be found. "Where's the key?", Gladiolus asked.

Then Ignis explained in haste, "He must have taken the keys along with the princess to reach Niflheim and to oppose him."

"him?", Prompto questioned. "Aemulus" the King affirmed. Ignis ran his hand through his hair. He has never been this nervous in his life before.

"I got a plan", Gladiolus said. Ignis' and Prompto's eyes met, both wondering what Gladiolus is up to. The bodyguard took the phone that was fortunately left on the table and dialed a number. After a while Gladiolus said, "Cindy? This is Gladio. We need your help."


	8. Last Chapter - The Same Fate

Gladiolus, Ignis, Prompto and the King waited under the street light surrounded by nighttime Darkness.

„How long will it take her to arrive?," the strategist asked.

„Cindy said it won't take her long," Gladiolus explained, as he walked back and forth, from one verge of the light beam to the opposite.

„Hey," Prompto exclaimed and vigorously jumped off the stone fence he sat on. „Do you see that, too? That red light way over there?," he asked and pointed at the deep black sky spotted with myriads of tiny white shining dots and a red light shining brighter and brighter the closer it comes.

The sound of silence was slowly drown out by boominess until a metallic something emerged from the sky. Promptos mouth fell open. "An airship?," he said in astonishment.

"Well, you can definitely place reliance upon Cindy", Ignis added.

Eddies arose as the airship landed and made leaves and dust swirl around. A gate opened at one side of the ship and a young mechanic hopped out as fresh and vivid as ever, defying the late night.

"Hey y'all", Cindy said approaching the group. They greeted back.

"How can we ever make up for this?", Gladiolus asked.

"Lemme think", the mechanic said and adjusted her cap "you can't" she laughed then added with a smile, "Always ready to save your bacon."

Suddenly a car horn is to be heard. "Oh, that's Paw-Paw," Cindy noted. The driver in the small red truck opened the window and a wrinkled face showed up. "Long time no see, Your Majesty," the old man greeted. "Cid," said the king, "Good to see you're doing well, my old friend." He was relieved. Relieved that Cid was safe and sound. Too many times has he been in danger, in battles along with the King, protecting the Kingdom of Lucis.

"Same goes for you", Cid responded with a crusty voice, "We're heading back to the station and you should strike off too, Your Majesty." The King nodded and looked over to the three young men, "We have no time to spare."

"Y'all take care out there", Cindy said when she moved towards the truck and got in.

As the 4 men headed to the airship Prompto asked, "Does anybody know how to fly that thing?" There was pure silence for seconds until King Regis said, "I remember how to fly it." Then he emphasized with a deeper voice, "That thing."

Prompto let out a brief whine, becoming aware of his unfortunate choice of words, his face reddening so much that he felt it would glow in the dark, just like traffic light. Gladiolus chuckled and patted his shoulder.

They got into the airship, glancing around, and followed the King to the bridge. He is familiar with the ship since he and his former companions, including Cid, used it to protect their homeland when they were younger.

King Regis pressed several buttons, behind the helm, that the other three boys absolutely had no clue of. Suddenly the ship jolted. "Whoa," Prompto exclaimed. Ignis nearly fell to ground. The shake made him lose Balance, but Gladiolus gave him a hand. "You're still injured," he noted then escorted him to some seats near by. "sit down," he demanded as he raised his forefinger. After that the airship rose up. "Awesome," Prompto gaped. Gladiolus and even Ignis were astonished. "Indeed, it is incredible," Ignis acknowledged.

"Everybody, take your seats. We are departing now," the King ordered and so they did as the Captain said.

"Noctis. Lucida," Regis muttered to himself, "we are coming for you."

Dark nebula hovered above the grasses and the street. The sky began to lighten blue. Noctis and Lucida drove along the road until they were confronted by a rectangular imperial airship whose searchlights shined at the siblings and made their eyes glow like those of wild beasts, thirsting for vengeance. "We found him," Noctis muttered and jumped out of the Regalia summoning his sword. Lucida followed him. The giant airship landed and a huge gate opened.

"Prince Noctis," Aemulus said with a haughty look on his face and made his way out of the airship followed by dozens of imperial soldiers. "I see you gathered your wits to negotiate about the crystal," he assumed then turned around and made a brief hand movement, which made the soldier behind him push a woman forth.

"Mother," Lucida yelled frantically. Rosa sobbed, "Lucida" Violently the soldier grabbed her hair and pushed the mother to the ground. Aemulus dragged his sword and said to Lucida, "Your mother betrayed me. She wanted to kill me" he held the sword close to Rosa's throat. "How pitiful," he laughed.

Noctis grinded his teeth, "You," he swore with a loud voice, "will pay for this!"

Aemulus shook his finger. "I heard that your mother, Prince Noctis, perished years ago," then he narrowed his eyes "Say, do you want your beloved half-sister to have the same fate as you?," he threatened. Without hesitation Noctis teleported him right in front of Aemulus, trying to overwhelm him, but the general blocked. Lucida ran after him defeating the soldiers around them. There was a great amount of soldiers, but still were no match compared to Aemulus.

Rosa restlessly looked around. "Run," Lucida demanded with a loud voice, but never is Rosa going to leave her daughter behind. No longer can she use the powers of the Royal Council, however no one can take her knowledge, thus she knows how to wield a sword. The mother grabbed the closest sword from one of the fallen soldiers and joined them fighting. "What are you doing?," Lucida questioned in hecticness.

"Something I should have done much earlier," Rosa explained as she covered her back. "For the Kingdom of Lucis," she exclaimed as she cut through the armour of a soldier and sliced his chest. "For the Kingdom?," Lucida asked herself in confusion. She thought her mother switched sides, and fought for Niflheim. But there is clearly no time to think about that now. Now they have to fight their way through the soldiers and put an end to this battle.

Noctis aimed to stab Aemulus, but he blocked every single blow. First he has to take his ability of defense, then he can defeat him. Analyzing the enemy's flaws, the Prince became careless. Aemulus used this chance and carved his left upper arm and the Prince fell to ground.

As Aemulus wanted to end Noctis' life, Lucida assailed him. Again he blocked, but this time he retaliated. Aemulus raised his sword to attack. Lucida closed her eyes. He stabbed out. Blood splattered on her face. But she could feel no pain. She opened her eyes and perceived her mother covering her, the blade portruding from her back. Lucida screamed. Tears mingled with the red splatter on her face, and streamed down like a waterfall of blood. As the murderer drew out his blade Rosa's body went down, falling into the arms of her daughter. "Lucida", her mother breathed, "stop him." Then she coughed blood. "No. Mother, please don't," Lucida sobbed, "Please, no-" With the last of her strength she said "I believe in you."

Then she closed her eyes and let out a terminal breath and lie motionless on the ground. Lucida cried of pain. Suddenly the world stood still for a split second, yet felt like eternity. Fury filled the heart of Lucida, leaving an expression of resentment on her face.

With a vengeance she summoned her sword to fiercely charge Aemulus, who still kept fending her blows. Suddenly Noctis entered the scene of battle, and finally Aemulus' defense powers ceased. Two of them were obviously too much for him. Lucida hit his sword and broke its blade, which flew high in the air and rotated until it bore into the ground.

"It's over," she said with embitterment and thrust his stomach with her sword. He grabbed the blade and tried to pull it out, but Lucida did not relent. Instead she pierced into his guts even deeper. He fell a few steps back, then slowly fell to the ground, his body and limbs becoming feeble. Rapidly she pulled her weapon out, which made Aemulus give a silent groan of pain and spit blood. His light grey coat soaked red. "So," he gasped, "now it ends."

Lucida turned her back on the defeated and left him suffer agony.

Afterward they heard a loud din and watched another airship land near the battlefield. Noctis and Lucida prepared for battle until they recognized the 5 men departing in haste, running towards them. "Thank god, we found ya," Prompto said out of puff. "Highness, are you alright?," Ignis asked, who was the last one to arrive. Suddenly it was dead silent. The men observed all the dirt, blood and corpses, Aemulus and Rosa lying among them. Their faces quickly changed from relief to consternation.

Suddenly a purple-haired man exited the enemy's airship. "What a mess," he sighed and glanced around. "Long time no see, your Majesty. How long has it been? 18 years?" the purple-haired man said.

"Ardyn Izunia," the King said disparagingly, then he became sarcastic, "To what do I owe the honour of this call?"

Ardyn giggled. "I was accorded the honour of increasing Niflheim's might," he explained with conceit, as he approached the half-dead Aemulus. "Thus I brought him on board." He stepped one foot on Aemulus and pulled out his firearm. "I always knew you were a waster," he taunted, and finished him off. After that he turned his attention back to his opponents. "All this is a chess-game. And you are my chess men," he said pointing at each on of the men. "I made the first move: the peace treaty to attack from an ambush," he laughed.

"You were the one who instigated the failed peace treaty", King Regis realized, "And drew innocents into it", he added, grinding his teeth.

"To accomplish great, you must make sacrifices", Ardyn justified with a half smile. "I have sacrificed my pawn,"he said and pointed to Aemulus, "but now it's my turn to checkmate you."

Noctis' heart rate increased. "this is unforgivable," he said in pulsing rage and stormed towards him. The deadly enemy dodged and reached for the lance. "You want a battle? So be it," Ardyn said with a smirk. Out of nowhere a spider-like metal machina, thrice as big as a human being, charged the group.

"His airship is equipped with magitek armors," Ignis explained. "Argh! What is it with that goddamn airship?," Prompto fretted. "full of surprises, I suppose," Ignis responded. Then Gladiolus demanded, "Hey Iggy, go and take cover along with the King!" As the strategist opened his mouth to object, Gladiolus said "You're still injured. We'll handle this!" And so Ignis did as he said and ran for cover at the edge of the battlefield.

One of the legs of the Machina rose up to batter Prompto and Gladiolus. The two of them stepped aside, Prompto shooting at the armor. It is useless. The Armor is too strong. Once again the Magitek struck them, but Gladiolus withstood the attack with his giant sword. "Prompto," he exclaimed, "shoot underneath its body!" There it was. Its weakspot, which looked like sort of a sensor. "I'm on it," Prompto assured, and hit the bullseye, which made the machina collpase. Gladiolus said in relief, "We did it."

They looked over to battling Noctis, who seemed exhausted from the last fight. At the very moment the two of them wanted to help him, the machina rose up again and battered the young men with its legs. "It's still working?," Prompto questioned, lying wounded on the ground.

Simultaneously Noctis fended off Ardyn's slow but tearing attacks, until he couldn't take it anymore and ended up lying on his back, the opponents lance pointing at the Prince's chest, which puffed in and out with each breath. The Prince squinched his eyes shut as if he was waiting for the finishing stroke.

"Your Highness," Ignis yelled from further away and leaped up to go to Noctis' rescue, but the King gripped his arm, shaking his head. Then he calmly said, "behold," and looked up to the twilit sky, which shaded darker and darker. Anthracite-coloured clouds covered the sky, the moonlight being the only source of light shining through it. Ignis' eyes widened, "Is this...?"

"A summon," the King acknowledged.

Ardyn arched up his weapon to end it and rejoiced, "Now you will be reunited with your mother." _Mother_ , Noctis thought. His memories struck as quickly as lightning. He remembers everything from that day. Fear and dread, the heat of the flames, the monster from the imperial army slaughtering his beloved mother. There was blood everywhere. _In the world of your dreams you are king,_ His fathers words resounded in his head. _Father, help me_ , he thought. He was helpless back then. Back then all help came too late, his mother already passed on. _Never bow out of what you begin. So long as you carry the blood royal, carry your head high,_ his father once said.Noctis swore he will. He wasn't helpless anymore. This war must have an end. Too many people died. _For the Kingdom of Lucis_. Finally Noctis opened his eyes, burning red like lava. "I will put an end to this," the Prince asserted with confidence and stood up on his feet again.

Ardyn laughed, but not for long. He noticed the gloomy atmosphere and the severe wind that emerged. The earth began to shake. A colossal shape came running from afar, making snarling noises, causing tremor with each step it took. When the silvery wolf reached the battlefield, he bit into the Magitek, then hurled it several metres away, which exploded at its impact. After that he growled at Ardyn and clenched his teeth, his hackles raising. Dropping his weapon, Ardyn stepped back. After a few seconds of thinking he retreated and ran for his life, looking for shelter in the imperial airship. Futile. Mercilessly the gigantic wolf ranted and raved, and effortlessly tore the airship to pieces. Ardyn looked up fearfully to the beast. Only one blow with its claws and he was a dead man.

After the wolf mangled his target, it turned around, bowed to Noctis and lay down. Step by step Noctis came closer to the wolf.

"Watch out," Prompto yelled.

"No need to worry," the King assured as he came along with Ignis. "Fenrir, the Archaean, will do him no harm."

"Fenrir, huh," Prompto mumbled to himself, "friggin' unbelievable."

The prince reached out his hand and stepped closer and closer until he was right in front of the Archaean. At first he hesitated but then Noctis decided to pet him behind his ear. "Good boy," he said, as if that beast was his house pet. Eventually Fenrir stood on all four legs again, howled loudly and made a move. Immediately the dark clouds disappeared, the sun rose on the horizon. It was the dawn of a new age, an age of freedom.

Slowly the tension eased and all attention fell on Lucida, who is sobbing aground with her lifeless mother in her arms. Noctis averted his face, covering it with his hand, then knelt down before Lucida. "I am sorry," he said in tears and grabbed her shoulder. "I am so sorry," he repeated and slightly shook her shoulder. She looked up to him, her face pale like snow and all wet from her tears, but her mouth dry like wasteland.

The King too knelt down to his children, looking one last time at the woman he abandoned 18 years ago. "It was Ardyn who betrayed us, not you," the King said to the deceased. "Forgive me," he begged and stroke her cheek. Then he wrapped his arms around his children and hugged them with all his heart. "Let's go home," the father said after a while.

Noctis and King Regis stood up to leave, but Lucida remained aground. _Home?_ , she asked herself. Her home was her mother, but she is gone. Is there still a place like home for her? The father reached his hand out to his daughter and said, "Come home with us"

She looked up to him with teary eyes. After seconds of hesitation she slowly grasped his hand and nodded,"Yeah... Home."


End file.
